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Horror chorus

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A recurring section in a poem that functions like a choral refrain with horror-themed content

Detailed Definition
Horror chorus is a recurring collective voice in a poem that amplifies dread, foreboding, or communal trauma through chant-like repetition or polyphonic utterance; drawing from Greek tragedy and Gothic tradition, it externalizes psychological terror and often functions as a moral or supernatural commentary on the central action.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The bells! The bells!” as a choral refrain in a horror poem about madness; A repeated chant: “Beware the red room” after each stanza; Ghostly voices harmonizing “She’s coming up the stairs” in unison; A chorus of crows cawing “Death waits” between verses
Additional Notes
A horror chorus is a repeated group-voiced refrain that amplifies dread, prophecy, or collective fear; inspired by Greek tragedy’s chorus but infused with Gothic or supernatural content; often appears between narrative stanzas
Also Known As
ghostly chorus spectral refrain horror ensemble dread antiphon Gothic refrain
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